A few years ago bought a 28" Green Mountain barrel. My plan was to cut one inch off it until I found the perfect length. At the time I was shooting SK long range only in matches. We shoot 50-75-115-166 yards off the bench at metal animals. BUT the 28" barrel shot so well could not bring myself to cut it . I did take some kidding about having a 28" barrel but after seeing how well it shot, I saw two more 28" barrels on the line.

I also live in NC and have all my life. Crazy weather but I'm used to it. I recently picked up a 457 Varmint from Fuquay Gun just down to road from me. I've bought many guns from them over the years. I have been enjoying your videos. I'm a subscriber.

Watched your vid twice, ordered a 26" from Lilja and was told it would be available this "spring". I shoot a bench match out to 250yds with the smallest target at sub 1 moa. a bunch of the regulars are subscribers to your channel and after each match we enjoy some delicious Mexican food locally. My current set up is CZ, Jard, Harrell, KRG Bravo, and a Vortex gen iii RZR. all ammo {Lapua LR and SK LRM} are measured and weighed and grouped. Please keep this line of vids coming. I'm from Cen TX

Gday Josh, really enjoy all your clips and testing and very interesting having a 26inch Lilja. I know your not to keen on SK Pistol Match Special but I think it’s worth testing more often as you may be pleasantly surprised. I’ve been using this ammo for years shooting a custom CZ benchrest rifle with excellent results. It has proven to be almost as good as Eley Match at our club and in some cases better. Thanks for all your work mate.

my training rifle is an 'At One' with a 24" barrel. Since I'm in the backyard, I've got a silencer on it. It's louder when the rounds hit the 50yd KYL than when the rifle fires

Hello On February 8th I had an appointment with SK in Germany for an ammunition test in my CZ 457MDT

I have a 24" Green River stainless on my 10/22. Really made a difference with 50 yds groups. I don't really go further than that. For a budget barrel, it works. I just installed a 22" Lilja on my 457 but sent it back to CZ because of bolt issues. Really wanted a another 24", but wasn't available from Lilja. Of course they now have longer barrels.

Just ordered one of the 26" Liljas but was disappointed to hear that it will likely be late May before I get it. I currently have a EABCO 24" in a Bravo chassis that I am pretty happy with but am really looking forward to trying the Lilja. It will be interesting to see how the Lilja and EABCO compare to the factory CZ barrels in my other 457s. Thanks for enabling my latest foray down the rabbit hole.

I reduced the size of the flyswatter target to 3/4 size to shoot on the 30 yard indoor range I go to, got 24 out of 25 with my 457 mtr and lapua center x, the rifle really liked that ammo

Would like to see it at 100 yards in good conditions. I’ve heard that the longer.22LR barrels can reduce your ES and perform better at longer ranges than the shorter ones. Interesting video thanks very much.

Ooh man!! I just put my 23” lilja on about 6 months ago lol it does shoot exceptionally well so not to disappointed now I’m just waiting to get it in to the Lapua test facility which should be June ish the guy had said about an 8 month wait 😔

Thanks for the quality content Josh! Question for you: what chassis would you consider for a well-balanced rifle with that barrel?

I had a 27" barrel on my .22 target rifle, but found it just too heavy. I think it was the cause of my left elbow tendonitis... lifting and supporting the heavy thing. Ended up getting it shortened to 21" without any loss in accuracy.

WOW !! - with my factory CZ457 American Synthetic 20" & factory trigger at 50Y in good ole' Nebraska/South Dakota BREEZY weather, it shoots not much worse....like a lilja barrel I guess....lol,...oh - shooting RWS Match. - Thanks fer sharing - Absolutely enjoy watching your channel !!

I have a Winchester 52D with a 28" barrel. When my daughter was a little girl we used to shoot CB Caps and CB longs out of it. It was quieter than an air rifle. Never did test the accuracy as we were just plinking. I did hear quite a few round bounce off trees and hit the weeds. Has any one shot one of these left handed? I shoot left handed and I'm wondering how comfortable/uncomfortable it is. If it os comfortable I may end up with the Varmint model in left hand.

I've been running a custom Bergara B14R with a 26" MTU contour Lilja for about a year and a half. It's a 4 groove tightbore with a 22 Nevius chamber and was smithed by Rick Barton at Scheels in Des Moines. Carson was great to work with as well in ordering my blank. It can consistently shoot 15-17 X's on IBS and IR 50/50 targets. I reallly should do a range report on it or send it to you for a range report! Happy shooting PoA!!!

I tried to get IBI to spin me up a 26” barrel about a year ago and they wouldn’t do it. I think in a 22lr a 26 inch tube would be a great length for a bench rifle. They also told me the action isn’t strong enough to support a 26” tube. I was willing to try but they basically said no without saying no. I must say I’m a bit disappointed the customer is always right and it’s my money. Oh well great vid Josh cheers 🍻

Testing looks really good

I need a 26” lilja now! Thanks Josh 😂

Would love to see you test out the new EABCO barrels head to head with the Lilja

Cool. Looks like a good barrel. I see you’re using OnTarget targets. You should try shooting it as intended, as it is an ARA practice target. Shoot one per bull and scan it. It will give you a ton of information. It will give you an ideal ARA score ignoring scope zero, as well as an actual score assuming you are zeroed. It will also give you scope X and Y offsets to let you know how far off your zero is. It will give you 5-shot group info per row. And a 25-shot group for the entire target. It gives you mean radius as well as group extreme. (Mean radius is more meaningful.) also gives you the SD of that. And separate SDs for X and Y, too. The SD of Y is very helpful in dialling in a tuner.

Great test and the video looks awesome! Quick question, I can see the application to bench rest comps. What I am curious about is the practicality in staged obstacle comps of the 26 inch barrel? Just thinking about applications for my next build as I heal up. My longest is a 24 inch.

This isn't specific to this video, but can you add the area 419 extended mag release and still be in the PRS RF Production Class? Thanks for the great videos!

great video buddy. i love my liljas. thanks for turning me on to them

I think I have a unicorn. My CZ457 Varmint (all stock) will shoot .200" 5 shot groups @ 50y. It likes Eley Club the best and Eley Subsonic Hollow Point next (I know weird) with Lapua Midas Plus third. I have a couple boxes of Eley Tenex I would really like to test but I will be waiting for the perfect day to do that. I have not done any lot testing nor used barrel tuners. I have never had the gun out of the stock or done any torque testing on the action screws. I am truly afraid to touch the gun with fears of messing it up. [Athlon Argos 8-34, Area419 20MOA rail for anyone curious]

Got my 26 Lilia about a month ago . Put in a mtr got the headspace around .043. Haven’t had time to really ammo test but it seems to not be as ammo fussy.

Would love to see lot testing and may be out at 100 yards with the best lot.

Video content idea - put a Garmin Xero in the video to, that way people can see speed live as the shots hit the paper and would help inform flyers and also showcase the consistency of the ammo

I am looking at this barrel on my 457. Any more ammo testing coming up? Perhaps 5 5-shot groups would be good to see the trend. Tks and really appreciate your channel and work! Hazz

Would love to see bullet speeds out of that thing! Excellent video! 👍🏻❤️🇺🇸

Great shootn Like the way you used the plain 1” for fowling Will use that tech.Would b interesting to see if does good @100 . Didn’t seem much diff from your Fac CZ 20” @50 Im still Trippn on intro Music😵‍💫👍🏻

Love these videos. However the CZ Varmint MTR is not available now and a guy from CZ told me it might not be produced for a year.

Great video Josh! So how do you order this from Lilja? They do not list a 26" barrel on their website. My wife will appreciate a quiet set up for the backyard range. For those that don't want to wait for a custom rifle and the cost associated, it is a super nice option. I have a Lilja 21" on a CZ 457and it is very accurate and consistent with SK ammo.

What do think the velocity change is between the 16 and 26 is ? I have the 24 in at 1 all others I shoot with have 16 or 20 in barrels and said the 24 actually shoots slower. Was wondering you thought on barrel length

Watch you do some ammo test mostly with modified 22 I have several custom 22 455 in manners stock with lilja barrel custom 22 built by John Langley and a crazy 10/22 the only thing Ruger is the action I like to see some ammo testing with normal factory 22 Thanks

Have very similar results with my stock barrel of the cheapest synthetic CZ 457. Ammo makes MUCH more difference than a barrel, after ammo - trigger, optic, stock. The last thing that I will buy - is a new barrel, probably when the old one wears out.

Would love to see 100 yard comparisons. I wonder if you could sneak in SK Pistol Match Special. For some reason it does best in my CZ457MTR.

More on this rifle and barrel would be great.

Nothing with Lilja Barrels, best hand lap in the button rifle game i'd say. Lilja and Benchmark can't go wrong with either one.

Looking to purchase my first CZ .22. I would like to be able to use it for friendly competition at local matches but also use it for a practical hunting piece as well…maybe nuts but hoping possible. I was surprised by the 26” barrel. In reading multiple different people in the competition world have made comments that the 16” barrel the ammo would give its best, little to no impact on velocities and group size…in watching your channel I am now questioning those statements…you may have video that addresses this, if so I hope I find it to hear your thoughts on that. Love the channel, great videos.

I can't find your video on the installation and head space measurement of the Lilja barrel on a 457. Is that video still up?

This video show why fouling the barrel is important . Notice the false positive result changing from 1 brand ammo to the other 😄. That 5 shots SK+ after CCI SV is incredibly tight . That’s a very good examples of false positive in ammo testing .

Might have to get me one of those. Great video bud

Thanks for the great info. We’re I to take the plunge, how much butter and egg money will I have to save to get my own 26er?

Great video, unrelated question, would you recommend the 419 rail changer plate or the gray ops mini plate. Thanks

Did you bed that MTR stock? If so I would like to see how you bedded that MTR stock

I've always liked your theme music, but I can't figure out the words. What are they?

What is the device attached to your scop (to hide weak eye vision i believe)?

Hey, just subscribe to your channel recently love the videos the content I'm just an old guy, but it looks to me like you're having a better time shooting at the non-blaze orange target. I know I really have to match my reticle to the target when I do centerfire.300+

Have you had any issues with the l3i mags? Mine won’t feed most of the time and causes extraction issues

Put the Lilja 21 inch pre-fit on my 457 VPT and it really likes Eley Match

Josh, have you discussed the objective aperture device on the Tract in this video? Curious how much it benefits you.

would like to see how the longer barrel affects it at longer ranges

When did you switch to 10 round groups?

Hey my Lilja barrel 28 inch is finnely in Engeland from the us now a small jump to Holland and hope it go fast and my guy can make my barrel fore my cz 457 🎉🎉🎉🎉

Test at least 50 per ammo type and count the last 10 for grouping. Gives it time to settle with each.

Had expected to see better results with a longer barrel even though the velocity drops off. Perhaps, because of a longer barrel, a Tuner would be helpful.

I have just recently acquired a CZ MTR what cheek riser are you using I would like to get something that is not going to damage the wood

I would like to see you let that barrel cool completely before shooting each batch of ammo. It looked like there was a cold bore shift on the first shot.

What is the diameter/taper of the Lilja, and did you need to open the barrel channel on the MTR stock? How does it balance?

What was your head space set to, and did your measure rim height of your ammo tested? I have an Lilja 21 on my 457 with a Timney set a 4oz. Usually shoots .21in group at 50yrds with Eley match with all measured rounds to my head space.

Hey Josh, with something other than an anomaly like the 26" Lilja, where do you like the balance point to be on your MTRs et al?

How about E.S. velocity numbers compared to your shorter barrels

So need more info on 26 inch barrel.

Hi great videos I'm building an NRL22 and I'm ordering a barrel from IBI for a Cz457 would you get 22 or 24inch 1 16T ?

Sorry, I am a bit late to the party. I put a 20” Lilja barrel on my rifle after being told that beyond 18” muzzle velocity starts to drop off which degrades long range performance. The longer the barrel the more the drop off. How does that long barrel perform at 2 and 300 yards?

What is your recommendation on the Anarchy one piece bottom metal. Or cz two peace. On a 2024 cz 457 mtr

Hello, really love your channel. I got CZ457 a week ago, it is very good. I have quesiton, I adjuested zero with 25 meters, which is very accrate. Then I shoot 50 meters, I know I should aim like one moa higer, which is good as well. The problem is when I aim 10 meters, I think I should aim a little bit lower to make it accrate, but the fact is I should aim a little higher to hit the center of target. Can I tell me why? or can you make a video to see how to shoot closer than the ajusted zero distance. Thanks.

So what is your opinion, I spoke with Carson at Lijia about one today. Before ordering is it an improvement over my 20" Lijia????

Question for you. I bought aluminum Magwells from Australia and Pete piller. All works well until I tighten. Mag is too tight. Everything in plastic Magwell works fine.

What bolt knob is that?

Wonder how well it would do past 400yrds? I'm looking to stretch it out past 4-500yrds

Honestly if you've the ability I'd like to see different barrel length vs a suppressor against a meter. I know it's a bit of a sidebar to the usual content but I'm sitting here debating rolling the dice on a longer barrel for my B14r half to chance it being better(not that factory is bad) and half to see if it's quiet enough I won't want to bother with my can anymore. Some quantifiable data even from a 10/22 vs that MTR with an Iphone app would be super helpful. Also anyone with any info/knowledge of kiprecision's b14r prefit? Another option showing up in the search. I know the ibi has got mixed reviews at best.

What bolt handle is that?

Josh, what cheek riser do you have on your MTR?

Keep going, did you check head space?

I notice you don't run a tuner ? With a tuner on any of mine .25 or better at 50 . Or are tuners not your thing ? Cheers 🍻

Of course the 26" Lilja happens mere weeks after I finally got a 21" and case of the best lot. Oh well, the 21" shoots great as is.

Wandering if there was a bareel you have that is the best shooter and if you had one that shot multiple ammos well and not just one clear favorite ammo to get to shoot well

Josh, where can I get the Lilja 26" Straight 1.00" CZ 457 22lr barrels? Everyone is Out Of Stock? Do you have a SECET VENDOR? Please Advise. Thank you.

They don't have it listed on their website

Please continue

Do you still have the OEM MTR barrel? Would you be interested in selling it?

Was this one of the 3 groove barrels?

Did you have green sweat shirts as well?

Those mags look familiar 😜

@pursuitofaccuracy Let’s see the test at 100 yards and see how it balances. Appreciated

What’s the velocity change with a 26 inch barrel?

Would you be interested in selling your factory cz barrels

What about people running there 22lr through a sizing die? Comments?

Appears to group like an aerosol

Try cci green tag.

What’s the point in shooting lesser ammo a $600 barrel. need to up the annie and shoot better ammo in that very capable rifle

You're such an easy mark! I suffer the same disease you do!

How's it group at 100? And what's the MV like?

Well, there went the amazing factory rifle 😢

more testing! maybe lot test and come back and shoot an ara score card

The orange wind flag behind you is helpful to get an idea of just how gusty it is!

Hows the balance with the 26"

Lilja is known for making great CZ457 prefits. I personally can't recommend them from my expirence if someone is seeking best performance for a CZ457 AND doesnt mind waiting for a custom fit. Ive seen to much performance variation barrel to barrel.